Obsessed With Oblivion
by Sera Black
Summary: (Post-OotP) Some things happen to us that we just want to forget, but that doesn’t mean you should. It's hard to accept, but everything happens for a reason, whether you like it or not. After all, death is but the next great adventure. If you’re dead.
1. Lily's Box

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~?~O B S E S S E D - W I T H - O B L I V I O N~?~  
  
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DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended -or- I don't own Harry Potter. Damn.  
  
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STORY'S SUMMARY: (Post-OotP) Some things happen to us that we just want to forget, but that doesn't mean you should. It's hard to accept, but everything happens for a reason, whether you like it or not. After all, death is but the next great adventure. That is, if you're dead.  
  
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AUTHOR'S NOTES: This took forever to get how I liked it, and all of the trial and error did this FanFiction good. I like to thank Sree for being my Beta, Ashley for being my editor, Diamond for helping me research, all of you for reading, and most of all, every Detentionees for just being my friends! Reviews would be greatly appreciated *hint*hint*  
  
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CHAPTER ONE -- Lily's Box  
  
Harry lay sprawled out on the bed in the small room he was given while he was at his aunt and uncle's house. Even though the room was messy with spell books that had been thrown open only to be shut again, wadded up robes and bits of parchment, it was still a very empty space.  
  
Sometimes a room may express the personality of the owner. If you tried to get a better understanding of Harry by seeing where he lived, you'd think he was dead. In this room he existed only to be imprisoned in his morbid and hasty thoughts of unspoken taboos. That's no way to live, but in that room he is safe from the outside world. Although, not from himself.  
  
This 'holiday' was merely an excruciatingly long period of time for him to stew in his own pensiveness. Little Whinging was just a euphemism for an iron cage he returned to each year until his 'holiday' was over and he can return to Hogwarts, his real home. That was all going to change next year, he thought to him self. Next summer he would turn seventeen. Being a legal wizard no force on heaven or on earth was going to keep him in this godforsaken prison.  
  
He reached over to his side table to the last letter he received. It wasn't particularly friendly in any manner, but very simple and short. It didn't matter, because he was leaving this perdition at last.  
  
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20th of July, Noon, Be ready.  
  
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He held the letter in his hands reminding himself that it wasn't a dream. Tomorrow he would see the Weasleys, Hermione, and the rest of the Order. but not Sirius.  
  
Harry rolled over lazily in his bed folding his legs underneath him, for when he didn't they hung several inches off his mattress. All of his things that were hand-me-downs from his cousin, Dudley, were too big, and he had greatly outgrown his bed. This worried him a lot, because he was a Seeker for his house team, Gryffindor. Seekers were supposed to be small and light, but after his sudden growth spurt, on top of the fact he hadn't been on his Firebolt all summer, made him very nervous about Quidditch.  
  
Harry thought he may never fall asleep that night, but as the moon glowed softly in the black velvet sky, he slowly slipped away into an elusive sleep that was of course twisted with his usual nightmares.  
  
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Harry woke with a start the next morning, his dreams got worse each night. He looked at his clock; it was only 6:30, but he didn't have anything to do. His trunk was already packed, and even though he didn't want to have yet another confrontation with the Dursleys, he was starving.  
  
Harry walked down the stairs and past the hall, as he opened the door to the kitchen he thought if he was really quiet maybe they'd leave him alone. No such luck, as soon as he sat down his stomach erupted in angry snarling growls. Uncle Vernon looked at him over his morning paper with his eyebrows raised in his normal manner.  
  
The Dursleys never let him have as much as he wanted, but he did eat. Harry grabbed his stomach that went on like it had a mind of it's own and wished that it would stop hurting. Once Harry gnawed on some toast and bacon the pain seemed to ease away after every bite.  
  
Dudley was heard blundering down the stairs like he did all the time. He avoided looking at Harry as he inhaled his breakfast.  
  
Dudley had done this his whole life, ignore him, yet Harry still couldn't help thinking that he'd changed. Since his return from Hogwarts last summer, he thought that maybe a run in with the dementor had done Dudley some good. His cousin didn't insult him as much as he used to and had begun beating up kids his own age, which for Dudley was quite an improvement.  
  
"Harry," his aunt Petunia said through her horsy teeth from behind her teacup, "I want you to clean out the attic before you leave."  
  
Harry felt like whipping up a snappy remark, but he was anxious to leave Privet Drive and wouldn't mind something to do to pass the time.  
  
Once he was finished with breakfast, he walked up the stairs and opened the door into the attic. It wasn't messy at all. There wasn't even dust. He spotted a few boxes that he could move around and say he cleaned it up. He walked over to the attic window and saw Dudley shining up his new sports car. He wished he could drive away in that beautiful, red car. He stuffed away his thoughts until later as he opened a cardboard box and couldn't believe what he saw. It was a Remembrall gleaming in the strip of light through the window, as if it had been waiting for him to find it.  
  
"What's a Remembrall doing here?" he asked himself, looking around the irritatingly clean attic. He picked up to small glass ball and gave it a squeeze, knowing what its purpose was. The Remembrall just stayed the way it was, there wasn't even the regular white smoke.  
  
"That's strange." He turned it around and examined it till he found the reason it wasn't working.  
  
There was a thin crack along the glass that all of the smoke must have escaped from. It was just a glass sphere now, just a hollow marble.  
  
He looked back into the box and felt his heart jump into his throat. A Potions book was propped up against a small velvet bag of silvery Floo Powder, and there were some clothes thrown into it too. He closed the box and looked for a label. It read 'LILY'.  
  
He felt tears develop in his eyes as he clutched the moldy box to his chest. Next to the enchanted pictures and the haunting mirror, this was the first tangible evidence that his mother even existed. He slumped to the floor and sobbed softly in the dark where no one could see all the weaknesses pouring from his eyes.  
  
He cried for his mother, his father, Cedric, the old man he never knew, Neville's parents, but not Sirius. In his mind Sirius was just playing a prank like he always used to do. No one just slips through a veil and dies. Sirius kept his sanity in Azkaban for twelve years. Not anyone could do that. He actually escaped the Dementors' jail. No one has even come close to succeeding that feat except Sirius. His existence wasn't questionable to Harry.  
  
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	2. Meet Séraphine

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~?~O B S E S S E D - W I T H - O B L I V I O N~?~  
  
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DISCLAIMER: I'm aware of the pathetic fact that I own nothing *rolls eyes*  
  
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CHAPTER TWO -- Meet Séraphine  
  
He spent the rest of the morning riffling through his mother's things while listening to Hedwig's restless hooting and his stomach's incessant growling. Finally he heard his Uncle Vernon's voice bellow from downstairs.  
  
"Potter, those people are here!"  
  
Harry placed the box carefully in his trunk and dashed down the stairs wondering who exactly 'those people' were. He descended the stairwell three at a time to find the Weasley twins standing just outside the door with two identical grins on their faces.  
  
"Ready to go?" said George dressed in khaki slacks and a blue muggle sweater just like his brother, but their different initials were monogrammed in the corner. Both looked very professional, the change was as faltering as it was strange.  
  
"Yeah," said Harry trying hard to smile back, it felt like his jaw might break from the force.  
  
"Well then lets go get your trunk, shall we?" said Fred throwing a glance at Harry's uncle who could be seen purpling as the twins stood in his doorway. Harry never liked his uncle, but Fred and George did make his son's tongue swell to the size of a four foot long purple snake.  
  
Fred and George followed Harry up to his room.  
  
"How are we getting back?" asked Harry.  
  
"The same way we got here, driving. You should probably let Hedwig out so she can fly there. It would be less of a hassle." Said Fred.  
  
"Yeah, and the fact she'd have a fit over a caged animal has nothing to do with it?" Asked George.  
  
"Who?" Harry didn't have a clue what they were talking about.  
  
"You'll see, Harry," George told him. "Just let her out. You don't want her ranting the whole way back."  
  
Harry released his owl out the window and turned to one of the twins. "Did Ron and Hermione come too?" Harry made to grab one end of his trunk, but Fred waved him aside and carried it down the stairs with George. Harry took up Hedwig's empty cage and followed suit.  
  
"We work for the Order now that we're done with Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione really wanted to come, but they're too young." Fred said shifting the trunk around in his hands.  
  
Their clothing was attractive and looked quite expensive too. Harry was glad that their business was doing well.  
  
"We should probably be using Floo Powder, but we still can't trust the Ministry and we figured you could use a short road trip after being cooped up with a bunch of duffers," George said just as they past the sour-looking Dursleys.  
  
Harry walked out the door without so much of a goodbye from his relatives and felt his jaw drop in surprise. He was expecting one of the Ministry's cars or another rusty Anglia, but sitting in front of Privet Drive four's driveway was a shiny blue Mustang convertible with its engine revving wildly. In the driver's seat was a girl Harry didn't recognize, but George was talking with her cheerfully and climbed into the passenger seat as Fred finished loading Harry's trunk into the back of the car.  
  
Harry walked up to the car as it roared loudly, all three of them now in the car. Harry felt better after seeing Dudley's lusting expression turn crestfallen with his ugly red car.  
  
"Harry, meet Séraphine." Said George gesturing to the odd looking girl. She did seem very strange to him for no specific reason. Her dirty dish water blonde mane fell into her pale face, but a set of bright blue eyes just barely penetrated her messy hair.  
  
"Séraphine, Harry," he said as he nodded in Harry's direction. Something about her didn't seem natural. Harry thought he might just being paranoid. He never really enjoyed meeting new people, especially now. They always seemed to go through the usual stages. First they would gawk at him name, marvel over his scar, and then treat him like some poor little orphan boy.  
  
"Hey there." She said quickly with a glance in her rear-view mirror.  
  
Harry couldn't believe it, she didn't freak out over his name or his scar, but she barely even looked at him. Suddenly Harry didn't care if she was a bit strange looking; at least she didn't wear orange radishes for earrings. Compared to Luna, Séraphine wasn't weird at all.  
  
"Should we go then?" she questioned George with a bored scowl.  
  
Harry climbed into the convertible sinking into the interior. Thinking back, he didn't have a single good memory at Little Whinging, but the most beautiful sound filled his ears when she shifted the car into gear and loudly pealed out of Privet Drive.  
  
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Séraphine pulled into a parking lot of a burger place in a town somewhere between London and Surrey. Harry stumbled out of the car; his ears buzzing with the music Séraphine insisted on playing so loudly it made the backseats shake angrily.  
  
His stomach almost dropped Harry to the ground. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until they all walked into the restaurant.  
  
"Order anything you want, I'm buying," the girl said in a tone that received no argument.  
  
Once everyone had ordered Harry noticed just how unusual she was. Her uncombed, wind blown hair fell around her face in an elegant fashion that most couldn't pull off. She wore a pair of denim jeans torn at the knees, an old black T-shirt with 'Sex PisTOls' written in white lettering, and a white long-sleeved shirt on underneath that.  
  
Fred, George, and Harry all ordered burgers, as it were a burger restaurant, but Séraphine ordered a salad. She wrinkled her nose as Fred took a bite out of his cheeseburger and groaned as he ate it ravenously.  
  
"Did you know an innocent animal died for that?" she said as she cast an angry look at him. Which wasn't much different from her scowl which seemed to be permanent.  
  
She wasn't ugly at all, but she wasn't very pretty either. In fact she could have easily been mistaken for an attractive boy if her hair wasn't so long. Her baggy clothes covered up what hope she had of a curve in her stick figure. Séraphine's shoulders were a bit broad for a girl, she had no bust or hips to speak of, and her limbs had the awkward appearance of being stretched out.  
  
Fred swallowed hard and clutched his chest looking at her as if he were hurt by the question. He brought the nearly half-eaten burger up to his face and mooed so loud it made people twist around in their seats to see what was going on.  
  
She looked highly disgusted, but at the same time finding it very difficult not to smile after each muggle became curious of Fred's spectacle. He sensed that smiling was a rare thing for her, but when she did her lips spread widely and she showed each one of her white teeth, her features softened and she looked much more attractive than before.  
  
"Why are you a vegetarian, Séraphine?" Asked George.  
  
"First off I'm a Vegan." She corrected looking a little vexed by his question. "Do you know," she said while raising one eyebrow and folding her arms, "how exactly they slaughtered that cow?"  
  
"No," said George looking at his food.  
  
"Well they start by."  
  
"Ugh, I don't think I want to know."  
  
"No, I don't think you would!"  
  
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	3. Not Really From Around Here

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~?~O B S E S S E D - W I T H - O B L I V I O N~?~  
  
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DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, because JK does *shakes fist*  
  
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CHAPTER THREE -- Not Really From Around Here  
  
After they all finished eating, which wasn't long because Harry couldn't stop thinking about livestock, Harry asked Séraphine if she worked for the Order like Fred and George.  
  
"No, I was only allowed to come along because I have my license, and everyone else has been really busy lately with confidential stuff." She said rolling her eyes. "Grown-ups," she drawled, "as if they have nothing better to do, but to make everyone's life difficult."  
  
"That's great," said Fred furrowing his brow at her, "but instead of wasting that great mind of yours on how us adults are so cynical--"  
  
Séraphine snorted and smiled sarcastically at Fred's usage of 'us adults'.  
  
Fred glared at Séraphine for the interruption and finished his statement. "Maybe you should figure out how to do something worthwhile."  
  
"Worthwhile?" she grumbled making a face at Fred. "When did you become my mother?"  
  
"Oy, don't get angry at me, because your mum's not letting anyone, including us, tell you what's going on in the Order."  
  
"Believe me, I'm used to the whole 'you're too young to understand' speech. Merlin knows I've heard it enough times that I've memorized it, but it's such a big slap in the face. I'm almost eighteen! Can no one respect that? Did you know I had to take over my brother's chores for a month so I could have this mission? Had I not, it would've been that delusional prat driving you!"  
  
Both twins exchanged looks and rolled their eyes as Séraphine carried on with her frustration.  
  
"Plus, I have to clean his stupid car and change the oil for using the damn thing. He's such a sissy, owning a car and not knowing how do work on it. Mechanic!" She slammed her fist down on the table hard and made it wobble. "Can you believe that? The Nancy-boy hired a mechanic!"  
  
Fred looked at Harry and nodded at the girl, "The whole blessed way down here." He said with a tired expression.  
  
"And then my mother!" Séraphine said dramatically at George, "She thinks she's so cool, because she's this great Auror now."  
  
"Wow," said Harry in awe. He had always wanted to be an Auror when he left Hogwarts. "So, have you ever wanted to be an Auror?"  
  
"Hell no!" she groaned slapping her hands back down on the table. She looked at Harry's expression and shrugged. "I mean I couldn't blame someone for wanting to. The money's more than decent and she gets enough praise for doing her job. I guess it's just not easy saying goodbye to her every morning and not know if she'll be home for dinner for sure," she said as a dark gloom swept her face. "Even if she drives me insane when she does end up coming back."  
  
Harry suddenly wished he hadn't asked.  
  
She caught Harry's crestfallen look. "Except maybe for the ass-kicking part, the job really doesn't appeal to me."  
  
"Séraphine!" Fred looked at her quickly as if she had said something out of line.  
  
"Aww, stuff it!" she threw one of George's fries at him, "You know that's why you work for the Order." She looked back at Harry, "At least I'm willing to admit it, but really I haven't a clue what I'm gonna do. Mother keeps bugging me that I'll become some common hag, living on the streets. Although.she doesn't have to worry about Rèmy, now does she?" She asked smirking at George.  
  
"Who's Rèmy?" Asked Harry more than happy to change the subject.  
  
"Combine Bill and Percy, take away the Weasley's trademark red hair, and you've got Séraphine's twin, Rèmy." George explained.  
  
The mention of Percy wasn't a pleasant one. Harry himself was still a little angry with Percy for siding with the ministry and calling him crazy. Harry wanted to know more about what happened to Percy since the last he had heard about the third eldest Weasley son. Harry decided it might be best to ask later.  
  
"Oh Rèmy, he's the dolt brother of mine who's dead set on being a Healer when we leave school," she said as if were a very dull topic.  
  
"You're still in school?" asked Harry surprised he hadn't noticed earlier, "but this is the first I've met you or even heard your name."  
  
"Oh, um, sorry I forgot." She said shaking her head. "You see, I'm not really from around here, or anywhere really. Rèmy and I were born in Egypt, but my family has lived in loads of other places before and after that. My mother's native to Romania, but my father was born in France. I've been going to this witchcraft institute in Massachusetts for quite a while now, and a different one before that. Now we're going to Hogwarts like both my mother and father did."  
  
"Is your father working for the Order too?"  
  
"Oh," said Séraphine a little startled, "he.died." She said looking down.  
  
"I.I'm sorry." Said Harry as he wondered if everyone felt this way when Harry told them all about his parents' death. At least for him everyone knew how it happened, and he didn't need to explain it.  
  
"Don't be," she said putting on a forced smile.  
  
Determined to ask a question that didn't end in a morbid answer, Harry figured a question about school couldn't hurt.  
  
"What year are you and your brother going into?" he asked cautiously.  
  
"Rèmy is going into his seventh. I got held back a few years ago, so I'll be going into my sixth year with you, Ron, and. that Hermione." She finished with a hint of dislike.  
  
"What is it with you and her?" Asked Fred.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, Fredrick." She said adopting an innocent face while folding her hands primly and fluttering her eyelashes.  
  
"Uh, yeah right," snorted George obviously not fooled at all.  
  
"It's just I've never had luck with making friends with girls like that." She said as she ran her hands through her coarse hair. "They either don't get along with people like me because of my clothes, my music, or maybe to them I just smell bad." She looked at George, who was sitting next to her, as if she wanted him to sniff her. "She didn't look too pleased when she found out the whole 'Gypsy' thing either."  
  
Harry looked from Fred to George and finally back at Séraphine, "Gypsy?"  
  
Séraphine rolled her eyes. "My family and I are part of the Romani, or horrible gypsies according to Miss. Frizz."  
  
"What?" he felt like he did when Hagrid told him about Wizards.  
  
"What it means is they are a group of pureblood Witches and Wizards dating back a few hundred years ago." Fred explained.  
  
"But you're an old pureblood family and you're not gypsies." Harry said to the twins. "Are you?"  
  
"No." Said George laughing and then stopped. "Are we?"  
  
"I don't think so." Fred pondered.  
  
"Nah," Séraphine said shaking her head, "you're too ugly. HEY, I was just kidding!" she shrieked as George mussed her hair with his knuckles.  
  
"This is the first time I've heard of them." Harry said thoughtfully.  
  
George snorted and laughed. "I can't believe you've never heard of Gypsies! They put on a real good show and get you so drunk that you won't remember it anyway. That's when they'll pickpocket you blind. You've never heard of them at all? Not once?"  
  
Séraphine rolled her eyes, "Must you put it so eloquently, George. I'm beginning to tear up."  
  
"Am I wrong?" Asked George stretching his arm around the back of her chair.  
  
She leaned forward to Fred and Harry. "Not really." She said smirking.  
  
"Charlie's had a few interesting run-ins with their lot, when he was doing some research in Romania. That's the only way we'd know about them." Fred told Harry.  
  
"Yeah, but we'd do anything to make a scene, so you can't hold it against us. It's just in our nature to be arrogant and loud." Séraphine trailed off as she leaned back and let George put his arm around her shoulder.  
  
He put his nose into her wild mane, "Oy, but Hermione's right. You smell awful!"  
  
She scoffed loudly. "Don't get all goofy on me." Séraphine said as she pushed his face away from her.  
  
"So," she stood up quickly, "is everyone done?"  
  
"Yeah." Said Harry.  
  
"Uh-huh." Said Fred.  
  
"Oh, I don't know, I think I fancy another dead cow-burger." Said George jokingly.  
  
"Oh come on! Let's get out of here." She told George as she tugged on his arm. Séraphine pinched her nose and said in a nasally voice, "it smells like rotting carcass in here."  
  
"If you have such a problem with other people eating meat, Séraphine, why on earth did you bring us to a burger place?" asked George as they walked to the exit.  
  
"So I could do this." she stuck her two index fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly, receiving the attention of many customers. "YOU ALL SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES," she hollered loudly as Fred tried to cover her mouth.  
  
"AN ANIMAL DIED FOR--ouch! That hurt you big lummox--AN INNOCENT, POOR ANIMAL FOR THAT MEAT IN YOUR BIG MOUTHS!"  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Hissed George as he pulled on the back of her shirt.  
  
"Thank you for your time! Have a nice day!" Séraphine yelled as she opened the door and took hold of the front of George's shirt. As what appeared to be the manager came fumbling towards them hastily she yelled, "Run!"  
  
Harry heard her on her way out as she made a beeline to the Mustang with George in tow.  
  
Fred looked as if he might apologize to the crowd because everyone was starring at him and Harry. The manager in front of them was turning a familiar blotchy red because of her rather rash announcement.  
  
Instead Fred rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh, what the Hell." With that being said, he grabbed hold of Harry's arm and ran after Séraphine and his twin.  
  
Harry saw George leap into the passenger seat without use of the door. Séraphine slid across the hood of the car and did the same on the other side. When Fred and Harry finally reached the car they quickly clambered into the backseats.  
  
Harry distinctively heard one of the twins mutter, "Every single ruddy time!" under his breath. Séraphine tore out of the parking lot, but not before squealing her tires for kicks, and then they were off.  
  
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	4. Blaze of Glory

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~?~O B S E S S E D - W I T H - O B L I V I O N~?~  
  
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DISCLAIMER: I own everything! IT'S MINE! ALL MINE! Just kidding ^_~ it's JK's. I also don't own any of the bands or songs mentioned.  
  
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AUTHOR NOTES: Okay, I don't know how to put stuff in italics, so any musical lyrics will be wrapped in double asterisks like this: **La la la la la! I can sing! La la la la la!** Any internal monologue will be wrapped in triple parentheses like so: (((Yep, I'm using my brain again.again.is that an echo? Echo.echo.))) Is that okay? Good!  
  
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CHAPTER FOUR -- Blaze of Glory  
  
"Hey, George!" Hollered Séraphine over the noise of the whooshing wind as they sped along a motorway.  
  
"What?" He asked.  
  
"You want to listen to some Bon Jovi?"  
  
"What?" He asked her again, still not quite grasping the question.  
  
Séraphine just shook her head and reached under his seat for something.  
  
"The road, Séraphine. Watch the road!" George grabbed the steering wheel just before they all died in what could have been a fatal car crash.  
  
"Sorry," she said pulling out a white cassette from under the seat, "Muggles or not it's still a crime if you've never heard of Jon Bon Jovi."  
  
"You make it sound like Wizards are musically inept. We do have the WWN." Fred said to her.  
  
Séraphine made to put it in, only George grabbed her wrist before she had a chance to.  
  
"Do the Muggles really listen to these?" He asked starring at the tape in awe.  
  
Séraphine laughed at him, "Yes, well I guess it's a bit interesting the first time you see one."  
  
"Weird!" George said taking it from her and looking at it closely.  
  
"Yeah it is a little, however I grew up on Muggle music." she said more interested in the conversation that the road. "Wizards are so determined to add more magic into music when they don't realize there's already enough in it."  
  
"How long have you been driving?" Interrupted Harry checking his seatbelt for the third time since they left the restaurant.  
  
"Oh, do I make you nervous?" She asked making a rather sharp turn to inflict more fear into him for the fun of seeing him flinch.  
  
After Harry recovered from sliding into Fred, he said to her. "A little bit, yes."  
  
They all laughed and then Séraphine answered him. "Legally, I suppose, my uncle taught me to drive a car when I was fourteen, but really I've been driving everything since I could reach the pedals. Of course, that was in America." She grabbed her head. "You Brits have this whole left lane thing that gives me a headache. When I first tried to renew my license here I about killed the instructor." She looked insanely happy. "Oh, it was a lovely mess!"  
  
"Why not just Apperate?" he asked. "You're certainly old enough." Harry couldn't wait till he would be old enough to Apperate. He'd never liked any of the other forms of transportation that wizards used like Floo powder and Portkeys.  
  
"That would be the sensible thing wouldn't it? Besides the fact I find the whole idea to be a load of crap, I'm also really shity with magic." She said frankly while pulling out a long thin bit of wood with her other hand. "So stupid with my wand, I can't tell the handle from the tip."  
  
"You aren't as dumb as you think you are," George told her grining and touching her hand a little.  
  
"Aww, that's sweet George," Séraphine said pulling her hand away fast and petting the side of his face roughly, "you should take that act on the road."  
  
"I though that's where we were." He asked scooting about in his seat looking around the car.  
  
She laughed and looked at the little tape still in his hands. "You ever gonna put it in?"  
  
"Could I?" He asked excitedly.  
  
"Yeah." said Séraphine gripping the steering wheel casually. George put the audiocassette into the slot very slowly as if it were made of Galleons. "That is, if you think you won't wet yourself first. I doubt Rèmy would like that!"  
  
Harry sat in the back of the car glad that their conversation had left him alone, and that Séraphine's music would hopefully block out danger of more talk.  
  
**I wake up in the morning  
  
And I raise my weary head  
  
I've got an old coat for a pillow  
  
And the earth was last night's bed  
  
I don't know where I'm going  
  
Only God knows where I've been  
  
I'm a devil on the run  
  
A six gun lover  
  
A candle in the wind, yeah**  
  
"You sing it Jon!" Séraphine swooned. "You in those tight denim jeans I heart so much. Yeah!"  
  
"Well, that's not degrading all!" George laughed.  
  
**When you're brought into this world  
  
They say you're born in sin  
  
Well at least they gave me something  
  
I didn't have to steal or have to win  
  
Well, they tell me that I'm wanted  
  
Yeah, I'm a wanted man  
  
I'm a colt through your stable  
  
I'm what Cain was to Abel  
  
Mister catch me if you can**  
  
Harry finally realized how much they were all keeping an eye on him. Séraphine check in her mirrors like he might float out of the convertible at any moment. He even caught a few glances in his direction from the twins.  
  
**I'm going down in a blaze of glory  
  
Take me now but know the truth  
  
I'm going out in a blaze of glory  
  
And Lord, I never drew first but I drew first blood  
  
I'm no one's son, call me young gun**  
  
Even the loud music and his growling stomach couldn't stop Harry from thinking about his Godfather. In fact, the words forced the images of Sirius's last moment into Harry's mind. (((I suppose if Sirius is dead, which he's not,))) Harry thought to himself. (((I guess that's how he went. In a blaze of glory.)))  
  
**You ask about my conscience  
  
And I offer you my soul  
  
You ask if I'll grow to be a wise man  
  
Well I ask if I'll grow old  
  
You ask me if I've known love  
  
And what it's like to sing songs in the rain  
  
Well I've seen love come, I've seen it shot down  
  
I've seen it die in vain**  
  
Harry was so hungry by now it felt like he was eating his own heart. His whole chest was burning with agony, still he bit his lip and refused to complain.  
  
**Shot down in a blaze of glory  
  
Take me now but know the truth  
  
'Cause I'm going down in a blaze of glory  
  
Lord, I never drew first but I drew first blood  
  
I'm the devil's son, call me young gun, na na na... yeah**  
  
"Are you okay?" Fred asked over the noise of the guitar solo, just now noticing Harry's attempt to be unobtrusive.  
  
"I'll be fine." Harry gasped in-between stabbing pains.  
  
"You sure?" Asked Séraphine who was starting to slow down while George twisted in his seat to check out Harry.  
  
**Each night I go to bed  
  
I pray the Lord my soul to keep  
  
No I ain't looking for forgiveness  
  
But before I'm six foot deep  
  
Lord, I gotta ask a favor  
  
And I hope you'll understand  
  
'Cause I've lived life to the fullest  
  
Let this boy's die like a man  
  
Staring down a bullet  
  
Let me make my final stand**  
  
"Yeah, it's okay. It probably just growing pains." He lied.  
  
Séraphine laughed, "Puberty's a bitch, eh?"  
  
Harry went red and felt the karma of lying sink in.  
  
"We're almost there." She told them all.  
  
**Shot down in a blaze of glory  
  
Take me now but know the truth  
  
I'm going out in a blaze of glory  
  
Lord, I never drew first but I drew first blood  
  
I'm no one's son, call me young gun  
  
I'm a young gun, yeah  
  
Young gun, yeah yeah yeah..., Young gun**  
  
x=?=x X x=?=x X x=?=x X x=?=x X x=?=x X x=?=x 


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